Innocent
by AryaGEN
Summary: Japer/Maya. Jasper battles to save Maya's life in the events after 2x16. Spoiler Warning.


As the faces of Cage's guards broke out in boils and burns Octavia's knife slipped unknowingly from Jasper's shaking fingers. Around him the amber beacon lights flashed to life and by the time he realised what was happening he knew it was already too late for the people of Mount Weather – he had seen the effects of a radiation leak twice before. The remaining 44's would-be killers lie sprawled across the ground, twisting and writhing as they struggled pathetically against their inevitable fate. Neither the loud ringing of the alarms nor the sound of his own heart beating loudly in his ears could blot out the strangled cries of the men as they spluttered feebly, their lungs blistered and filling with fluid. The men thrashed about futilely, each tormented breath shallower than the last as they slowly succumbed to the torturous grasp of the radiation. Had he not watched these men stand and do nothing as his friends were being systematically harvested Jasper would almost have pitied them but as it was he did not think on them at all – his thoughts were exclusively with the one person in Mount Weather he couldn't stand to lose, the one person on Earth he had to protect, with _Maya._

Jasper had never run so quickly in his life – he moved as fast as his feet would carry him from the chamber and through the doors to the rest of Level 5. In sheer panic and fear for Maya he left not hearing Harper's scream for him to come back, nor Kane's plea that he free them. His lungs burnt and muscles throbbed as he sprinted into the main hall, teary eyes desperately scanning the now disfigured faces of what were once the inhabitants of the mountain. When he had incinerated three hundred grounders at the dropship they had been grown men, trained and hell bent on killing him and his friends. Yet the swollen, welted faces that he looked upon now were unmistakeably not those of hardened killers, but were of frightened men, women and children – many of whom he recognised as people who had tried to help them. His stomach lurched as he realised this was their fault; they had done this, even if it hadn't been his hand on the trigger this time. Acidic bile crept up his throat and he bit back the urge to be sick as he took in the chaos in front of him: mothers and fathers and children helplessly clung to each other in terror, some still convulsing and shaking, screaming and crying, others still and silent. Amidst all of them he saw Octavia, hunched over the frail, trembling form of the woman he loved.

He rushed forward to her, dropping to his knees and pulling her into his arms. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he held her against him, noticing grimly she no longer felt cold under his touch. Her eyes were shut and her face was discoloured and swollen, but even covered in lesions as she was, to him she still looked the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. As he brought his head to hers and rocked her she blearily opened her bloodshot eyes; for a moment they were glassy and distant but they gradually focussed and beneath all the suppuration she managed a weak smile, incredulously rasping out the word "Jasper." Her voice was weak, not much more than a whisper.

"I'm here." He whispered back, holding her tightly, watching as her eyes lost focus again. She gulped at the air as though she were trying to drink water and her whole frame shook from the exertion just of staying alive, staying with him. When they had fought the battle at the dropship everything had been simple – it was kill or be killed, the grounders were the enemy and everyone did what they had to do. _People died then too, but this isn't the same… _Jasper thought to himself, finishing the thought aloud "she was innocent."

Maya's eyes flicked open once more, but she seemed distant, hardly aware of her surroundings. What little strength she had was fading and it was all could she do to just to speak. "None of us is innocent." She whispered hoarsely before struggling to take even shallow, choked mouthfuls of air and dropping limper in his arms.

Jasper's mind was spinning; the pounding of his heart deafened him as he saw the girl he loved drifting away from him. He cupped her neck with one hand and lowered her to the floor, tilting her head back to try clear her windpipe and placed one hand on her shoulder. She responded with a faint rasp but he knew she only had moments left. He pressed his forehead against hers, not caring about the blood, and pulled her in close to him – he hoped he could provide some small measure of comfort in her final moments, that she'd know she wasn't alone. He whispered into her ear that he loved her, snaking his arms around her back and squeezing her into an embrace. For the briefest moment he felt her apply the faintest pressure back, but the moment passed and as he held himself against her his heart felt heavy against his chest, like it was being crushed.

It was only as Octavia placed her hand on his shoulder that he realised the weight he could feel against his chest was Maya's dialysis valve. "We can save her." He shouted in a delirious mixture of hope and fear, praying he wasn't too late.

"Jasper." Octavia said quietly, her voice a mixture of pity, grief and concern.

"We can save her!" He roared, rising to his feet and carrying Maya in his arms. She needed bone marrow, and there were dozens of vials of it just lying there in the harvesting chamber.

Realising what he was thinking Octavia sprung to her feet and sprinted with him to the hall doors, getting their first and holding them open for him. As they raced towards the doors to the chamber where their people were Jasper tried to ignore how lifeless Maya felt in his arms. He had to believe that this couldn't be it, that the world they lived in couldn't be this unjust. Octavia hit the door to the chamber shoulder first, pushing it wide open for Jasper and Maya to fit through. For an instant the chamber was filled with jubilation and relief as Octavia came through but the cheers from their people handcuffed to the walls swiftly faded when they saw Jasper rushing in with Maya's body, knowing all she had done for them and how Jasper felt about her.

"Octavia!" Jasper shouted; the pain and panic in his voice evident as he set Maya down on the floor. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not and what little of her skin wasn't covered in burns was pale – even for her.

Jasper's hands trembled as he grabbed the neck of Maya's jumper and pulled hard, tearing the fabric to expose her dialysis valve. Her skin underneath her clothes was just as blistered as that on her face. "Octavia!" He shouted again, his voice cracking in desperation. She didn't need calling twice and crouched next to him with one of the shots of bone marrow, she handed it to him but his hands were shaking too much to line it up with the holes on Maya's valve. Sweat and tears ran down his face as he struggled to administer the shot resolving to hold his breath – just like he would when he fired a rifle. The needle lined up with the valve and he squeezed the trigger of the injector, watching as the vial of liquid was emptied into her system. But she was motionless.

Everything seemed to slow down as Jasper stared at Maya, willing her to live, willing her to fight. He barely heard Kane tell Octavia to get the keys from the guard and didn't notice when she freed him. He watched Maya's chest, hoping to see even the slightest sign of movement, anything at all. He rose shakily to his feet in panic and sought out another vial of bone marrow, loading it into the injector and returning to Maya to give her the shot. As he squeezed the trigger he pressed his hand over her chest, he couldn't feel her heart beating. Jasper's own breathing became ragged, flustered as a fresh wave of grief over took him. He looked towards Octavia for help pleadingly even though he knew there was nothing she could do.

"I really thought…" Jasper began but his voice gave out to his sorrow. He rested his head on Maya's stomach, finally letting himself sob uncontrollably. Some of the freed people moved around him as he grieved but it was only when he felt a strong arm grab him from behind that he was shaken to his senses.

"Jasper!" Kane half whispered, half shouted into his ear as he dragged the distraught boy a few feet from Maya. Jasper struggled against him, wanting to be with Maya – wanting to be alone. "Jasper, stop!" Despite Jasper's best attempts to break free Kane's grip was strong enough to hold him there, after a few moments of thrashing about in anger and sadness the fight in Jasper finally left him. As he opened his eyes to look at the sprawled body of Maya he saw Octavia crouching down by her, holding one of the batons the Mount Weather guards used to shock the grounders before draining them. As he realised what she was about to do he screamed out.

"No!" Jasper roared with as much force as he could muster, desperate not to see Maya's body further harmed, it did him no good. He watched the flash of blue electricity crack from the stick and pulse into Maya. For just a split second he allowed himself a glimmer of hope that against all the odds it would be enough to restart her heart, that the marrow would work and that she would leave Mount Weather at his side, but she remained motionless. Octavia struck her again, the blue flash bright in the dimly lit room. There was nothing. Jasper swallowed, his throat dry and cracked as Octavia pressed the baton against Maya's body a third time.

Jasper shut his eyes and leaned backwards unable to watch anymore but unable to ask her to stop, Kane's arms were still around him and after several more shocks Kane eventually muttered, "enough… Octavia… Sto-!"

He was cut off by the crack of the baton as it flashed again followed by a loud gasping noise from Maya. Eyes hot with tears Jasper scrambled towards the source of the noise, his vision to blurry to see clearly. He didn't dare believe it could be her, he didn't want to hope. As he crawled forward Kane didn't even try to hold him back. Jasper wiped his eyes on his arm and let himself look at her, terrified he'd see that same pale, disfigured _dead _face in front of him. But the face he saw was very much alive.

"Jasper?" Maya asked, her voice low and weak. Her face and body were still covered in blisters and burns – including some new welts across her chess from the baton, but her eyes were sharp.

"Maya?" Jasper asked, in equal parts terror that this was some kind of trick and sheer elation. The girl he loved was alive, she was pale, horrendously disfigured and barely able to breathe but she was _alive_.

"How?" She asked meekly, her breath shallow and ragged.

"The marrow." He said simply, desperate to kiss her but unable to out of fear he'd block her breathing. He cupped her cheek with his hand and ran the other through her hair, "Maya." He said again, as though scared she might disappear.

Maya's face twisted into the slightest of smiles before she started shaking, her body rattled by a ghastly cough. She fell limp again, closing her eyes and rolling her head to one side, Jasper felt sick as he saw dark blood trickle from the corner of her mouth, bubbling up from within her throat. "No, no!" He said as he gripped her tighter, unwilling to lose her again, "Stay with me Maya, I'm here… I'm right here." He said, hearing Kane shout for Abby, who he had untied from the table while Jasper held Maya.

"Get her onto the table!" Abby called to Jasper as Kane lifted her from the table onto a chair, the bone marrow they'd taken from her leg meant she couldn't walk. "And turn her on her side."

It took Octavia, Harper and Miller to move Maya as Jasper was inconsolable, he had to be convinced to let go of her and even then wouldn't do so completely - he held onto her hand. Kane pushed the chair up to the table allowing Abby a decent look at Maya's condition, once she was on her side her breathing normalised slightly.

"Can you save her?" Jasper asked, squeezing Maya's hand. Concern shone from the boy's eyes. He couldn't lose her again.

Abby looked at Maya, she furrowed her brow, frowning. Her eyes drifted up and down the girl before she turned to Jasper and admitted, "I don't know… at least one of her lungs is filled with fluid, I'll need to drain it and even if I can she needs blood. And who knows what else the radiation's done, I'll need to operate."

"I'll do it." Jasper said instantly, "Take as much blood as you need." He pulled his shirt to the side to expose his neck, the marks from where they'd taken blood before still visible on the surface.

Abby paused for a moment, her eyes fixed on Jasper, before she turned to Kane and said in a voice that commanded authority, "I'll need equipment – whatever you can find, and drugs – antibiotics, anaesthetic." Kane nodded, and looked towards Jasper and the other survivors of the 100.

"You know this place." He said flatly, asking for their help. Harper stepped forward immediately.

"I can take you to them." She offered, and set off immediately towards the door. Kane gave one last lingering glance at Abby, dipping his head to her slightly and squeezing her shoulder, before following Harper.

"I'll need one more thing." Abby said, as she pressed her fingers to Maya's neck and took her pulse. It was very slow.

"Anything." Jasper replied, still not believing his eyes that Maya was alive, albeit just. He ran his hand through her hair affectionately.

"I need Clarke – I'm in no position to do the surgery." Abby replied before barking out orders to the rest of the survivors, almost all of which had been freed, "we need this place cleared – move the bodies outside and then start stockpiling supplies – food, guns, equipment. Anything we can use."

As people set about gathering supplies Jasper leaned down and kissed Maya's head, his lips pressing against her matted brown hair. He whispered gently into her ear that he loved her, he was there, that she had to hold on and fight. He told her he would take her to the ground, she just had to live, _she just has to live._


End file.
